The libray as a meeting place in different urban communities

1. The libray as a meeting place in different urban communities By Ragnar Audunson and Svanhild Aabø Faculty of Journalism, Library and Information Science

2. Public Libraries – Arenas for Citenzenship (PLACE) A research project receiving funding from The Norwegian Research Council for the period 2007-2012

4. Categories of meetings in the public library • Square • Observing people different from oneself • Public sphere • Joint activities • Meta meetings • Virtual meetings

5. Basic concepts • Low intensive versus high intensive meeting places • Social capital • Public, parochial or private realm • First, second or third palce • Meetings

6. Research questions • How is the balance between the library as a high intensive versus a low intensive meeting place? • To what extent is the library a private, a parochial or a public realm? • Which life spheres and life roles is the library linked to, e.g. a first, second or third place. • How is the degree of interaction and cooperation in meetings observed?

7. Observations of library use in three markedly different urban districts • The gentrified community - Located in the Eastern part of the inner city - Working class tradition, now new strata -16% immigrants with non-Western background • The multicultural community - Suburban area completed in the 1980s - The educational level below city average - 40% immigrants with non-Western background • The middle class community - In the Western part of the city - Household income is higher than city average - 6% inhabitants with non-Western background

8. Findings • The library as a square • A public, a private or a parochial realm? • Otherness: The library as locale or location? • The library as a part of the public sphere • The library as a place for joint activities

9. Discussion, Q1 • How is the balance between the library as a high intensive versus a low intensive meeting place? * Some visitors use the library as a high- intensive, others as a low-intensive meeting place. * Many move between high-intensive activities and arenas and low-intensive ones. The library encourages this movement.

10. Discussion, Q2 • To what extent is the library a private, a parochial and a public realm? * The library as a whole is a public realm * Most uses constitute the library as a private realm *The library’s community activities constitute it as a parochial realm The library is complex and has characteristics of all three realms

11. Discussion, Q3 • Which life spheres and life roles is the library linked to, e.g. a first, second or third place • An extension of the home; a first place • An extension of or alternative to the work place; a second place • A neutral place where regulars meet and speak; a third place

12. Q4: How is the degree of interaction and cooperation in meetings observed?

13. Overall impression • Diversity and manifold of a variety of library uses and users • Easy transition between different activities and different levels; from high-intensive studying in a private realm to low-intensive participating in the newspaper room in a public realm • The library facilities encourage these transitions

14. Conclusions • The library’s capacity of being a meeting place equalizes the possibilities of being an active citizen across social, economic and ethnic differences. • Library users are exposed to the plurality of the community and learn about otherness. This contributes to a sense of community identity and social cohesion. • In the library, people are not categorized by profession, or as being unemployed, a patient or a client. This quality of the library contributes to social inclusion.